This blog is dedicated to treating everyone - clients, prospects, friends, and family - as valuable partners. We should show them our gratitude through all our actions, including our marketing.

October 12, 2014

Happiness

“You cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness.”
I have never known who first said this, but you can substitute lots of words
for “happiness”, and it is very true no matter what word you use. It is a
proven fact that those who give to others will receive back that same gift from
someone, somewhere, somehow. You can call it karma, or whatever other term you
use, but it is true.

“Delivering happiness” is the motto of one of the most outstanding
retailers, Zappos, the online apparel store. Read the story of the company in
Tony Hsieh’s book, “Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion, and
Purpose”. They believe that their company is “powered by service”, a philosophy
that more businesses should follow. The back of the book jacket lists 10 reasons
to buy the book, all of which are enlightening.

So what makes us all happy? What is happiness to us; what drives us to
be successful? What even satisfies the question that we have done what we
should do? How do we define success; how do we measure our success as a
business person or as an individual? Is it the amount of money that we make, or
is it the number of people’s lives that we impact in a favorable manner, making
them better in some way?

Each of us will answer these questions in different ways. What makes
one of us happy or successful may be very different from what means the same to
someone else. What defines our lives may not even be in the realm of similarity
for someone else. That is what makes us all individuals and normal people.

Is it the balance of money in our bank account, the number of
investments that return dollars to us, or the number of friends that we have?
Is it the size of our residence, the number of cars in our garage, or the
number of people that we have touched, helping them to rise above the level of
living where they were when we first met?

Maybe we have a lot of friends or contacts in social media, but do we
have anyone with whom we can say that we have a relationship of mutual trust
and support? Do we have those whom we can contact for assistance, information,
and to whom we can bare our souls and minds? Take a step back, and let yourself
take a long, honest look at your life and how your relationships matter to you
and to whom you are.

Bob Byrd and John David Mann say in their book, “The Go-Giver”,
that we should be of service to others. Their Five Laws of Stratospheric
Success stress the idea of giving to others, supporting the success of others,
and helping others reach their potential. This is a great book which stresses
the principles of karma, that we all get back from someone and somewhere whatever
we put forth into the world, no matter to whom we give. But we should give to
give, not to get.

So, what is happiness to you? What means more to you, the
success of your business or your own personal satisfaction? Is it the balance
in your bank account or the fact that you can smile when you look into the
mirror and be proud of what you do each and every day? What do your networking
partners say about your Appreciation
Marketing? Do you practice it or just give it lip service? Please
leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.